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A poisoned Apple?

A spate of suicides among workers at the Chinese plants that make the much-loved iPads and iPhones has raised questions.

Mon Sep 19 2011 09:22:33 GMT+0000

Foxconn, which makes Apple(***)s iPads, iPhones, iPods and Mac computers, gained bad publicity following a series of suicides at its plants in China

The China-based company also assembles other leading electronics brands, including Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Sony, Nokia and Nintendo [EPA]

The workforce is about 1.2 million strong, and some of its factories are home to as many as 250,000 workers [GALLO/GETTY]

The world(***)s biggest electronics manufacturer recently announced plans to replace workers with one million robots within the next few years [GALLO/GETTY]

The spate of suicides in 2010 threw Foxconn into the spotlight over working conditions and low wages

The company came under industry-wide pressure to raise the wages of its Chinese workers [EPA]

The Taiwanese manufacturer posted $944m net profits for the first half of 2011 [GALLO/GETTY]

Apple products are popular in China and the two Apple stores each in Beijing and Shanghai are the busiest in the world, averaging about 40,000 customers a day - four times the daily traffic in US Apple stores [GALLO/GETTY]

In July, Apple reported sales and profits in its third quarter, including $3.8bn in revenue in greater China, which includes Taiwan and Hong Kong [GALLO/GETTY]

After surveying four Foxconn plants, a protest group reported that workers are still subjected to onerous and illegal working conditions. China(***)s labour laws allow for a maximum of 36 hours of overtime per month but workers interviewed for the survey said they had to work 50 to 80 hours overtime

Labour rights groups say at least 13 employees jumped to their deaths in 2010 alone, while 20 others were stopped before they could attempt suicide

An October 2010 survey by Global Post said workers used words like "prison" and "cage" to describe working conditions at the Foxconn factories. But former Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, defended Foxconn factory conditions

In May 2011, Foxconn announced a new $12bn plant in Jundiai, an inland city in Sao Paolo, Brazil, where Apple(***)s iPads and iPhones will be assembled [GALLO/GETTY]